Improvement in the manufacture of sheet-lflfon



UNITED STAT T QFFIG? GEORGE ATKINS, or SHARON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,

= GEORGE w. WESTEBMAN, ROBERT FOX, ROBERT MAY, AND SAMUEL r T. ATKIljIS, OF SAME PLACE.

ilMF ROl/EMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE or sass-Macs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 88,092, dated March 23, 1869.

Be it known that I, GEORGE Arms, of the town of Sharon, county of Mercer, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Process for the Manufacture of Sheet- Iron,.by which I produce an article superior to anything now publicly known and used,

- which shall possess much of the appearance and most, if not all, the properties of Russia sheet-iron; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of my-said process.

The iron is first rolled into sheets in the usual way, leaving them, however, much thicker than they. are to be left when finished. The scale which always forms in such cases is then to be removed iii-the usual manner.

Where such removal is efi'ected by'the use of an acid-bath, which is the method I prefer, the sheets are to be immersed in a bath of limewater to remove or neutralize the acid. This part of "the process is not now claimed by me as new.

To prevent ill consequences from any remnant of acid still adhering to-the iron, I then applygrease, oil, orany other fatty substance, after which I proceed to carbouize the iron in the fpllowing manner: 'After-providi n g an iron plate of the proper dimensions, on which the sheets of iron, as thus prepared, are to rest, I

. as there is of charcoal, and good results willbe produced by the use of 'a'much smaller quantity. The quantity should mainly depend upon the quality of the iron-the better the quality the less marble-dust will be needed. Ithen lay on a sheet of the prepared iron,thcn another coating of charcoal and marble-dust,

' suflicient to cover the sheet of iron, and a litthe excess will do 110 essential injury. Another bri ghared heat. If not sufficiently annea sheet'of iron is then laid on, and so on,a'lternating each sheet with a layer of the charcoal and marble-dust, until a sufficient number-of sheets has been thus laid on, which will only be limited by the wishes of the operator or the 1 size of the furnace in which they are afterward to be placed. The whole is then placed in the carbonizing-furnaee and heated till the iron is brought to a dark-red heat, or a little higher,

depending upon the hardness'and quality of the ironthe poorer and harder the iron the greater the heat required for this purpose.

The sheets of iron should be allowed to re-- .The sheets of iroinhaving thus been pre pared, are then heated to a dull-redheat,

about to the same degree as in the rolling of ordinary sheet-iron, and they are rolled in the same manner.

At first these sheets are rolled singly. Afterward two sheets are placed together, raised to the degree of heat above described, and then rolled a second. time. Then four sheets.

are placedktogether, heated, and rolled, and

thus, bydoubling their number, heating, and

rolling them, the sheets can. e brought to any desired thickness, the heat 11 all'oases being raised to the degree above intimated, and the rolling should be continued, until the sheets are cooled to a black heat. The longerthe rolling is thus continued while thesheets are cooling the higher will be the polish given to the iron.

Afterabringing the sheets to the desired thickness'and giving them the requisite polish,jthey are to be inserted ina furnace or other proper place for being heated inv packs and brought to a bright-red heat, for the pur pose of annealing and coloring the iron, The

sheets are then passed again through the r011 ers in packs, for a single time, when he ed,

which the skillful workmen will readily perceive, the sheets are then again placed in packs in theanneeling box or furnace, and lien-ted gradually to it bright-red heat lowed to 0001 slowly.

This cooling operation, to be mostsuccess= ful, should continue for several hours, the

longer the better. The work is then complete.-

The above is the process from which. I have obtained the best results; but I do net limit myself to the precise method so described, as it may be considerably varied in many of its parts without seriously impairing the general result; nor do I claim all the parts of the process thus described, when taken respectively 'by themselves, as some of them are already known; but

What 1 do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1 The process of forming what is known as e ,mnl then at 2 series Russia. sheet-iron, 01? that which strcn gly rcsembles it and possesses most if not. all of its properties, substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and set forth.

2. In the process of formingsheetiren, the

use of mnrbledust and charcoal for cnrbonizof at black heat, and even afterward, substantinll y in the manner above described.

(Ill-OM11) ATKIXS. Witnesses:

J. is. CALLAN, JULIUS HIRSCH. 

